Outside Sections

SECTION
4 - Index Governor's Councillors' Salaries

Summary:
This section increases or decreases the salaries of Governor's Councillors according to median household income changes, like the salaries of legislators and constitutional officers under present law, effective in January 2015 when the next calculation occurs.

SECTION
5 - Commonwealth Education Innovation Trust Fund

SECTION
6 - Interagency Agreements between DDS and Medicaid or DMH

Summary:
This section authorizes EOHHS to enter into agreements with the Department of Disability Services so that DDS and EOHHS can jointly coordinate certain services that are provided for populations covered under the Money Follows the Person program and related Home and Community Based Waivers.

SECTION
7 - Adequate Revenues to Support Critical Investments

Summary:
This section provides adequate revenues to support critical investments, effective January 1, 2014, by:
* Changing the income tax rate to a uniform 6.25%;
* Doubling the personal income exemption amounts;
* Repealing numerous specific personal income tax expenditures;
* Lowering the sales/use tax rate to 4.5%;
* Extending the sales tax to computer and data processing services and custom software;
* Establishing the Commonwealth Public Infrastructure Fund to expend sales tax revenues exclusively for financing public infrastructure;
* Indexing the gas tax;
* Taxing security and utility corporations like other business corporations;
* Modernizing the sales factor for apportioning the corporate excise, by sourcing to where services are received;
* Repealing the FAS 109 deduction.
* Capping the film tax credit at $40 million per fiscal year.
* Repealing the exemption of candy and soda from the sales tax.
* Increasing the cigarette excise by $1 to $3.51 per pack, and increasing other tobacco taxes (cigars, smokeless, roll-your-own, etc.) to reflect the previous and new cigarette excise increases.

SECTION
8 - Eliminate Statutory Carry-Forward

Summary:
This section repeals the law that requires 0.5% of tax revenues to be carried forward to the next fiscal year, and another 0.5% to be deposited in the Stabilization Fund.

SECTION
9 - Annual Formula Local Aid

Summary:
This section enacts a new formula for distributing supplemental aid to cities and towns, known as "Annual Formula Local Aid". Beginning in fiscal year 2015, 25 percent of the appropriated amount will fund an incentive aid program promoting strong fiscal management, municipal health care cost management, and local government performance management.

SECTION
10 - Chapter 70 Minimum Local Contribution Waiver

Summary:
This section codifies usual budgetary language that establish procedures for appeals and waivers of minimum local contributions toward public school funding.

SECTION
11 - Expand Bottle Bill

Summary:
This section expands the state's bottle deposit law to include containers for non-carbonated drinks like water, juices, coffee-based drinks and sport drinks.

SECTION
12 - Health Safety Net Assessments

Summary:
This section authorizes EOHHS to assess hospitals and insurers, as part of the Health Safety Net assessment, for the costs of administering the Health Safety Net and related assessments. This section also clarifies that integrated care organizations, and services provided to their enrollees, are not subject to the Health Safety Net payor surcharge.

Summary:
This section:
(A) provides a very narrow exception to the present replacement housing requirements and will affect approximately 75 units of state-assisted public housing. The language permits the demolition or sale of (a) "chapter 705" scattered site family units that are vacant as of November 1, 2012 and for which rehab is not a feasible alternative, and (b) "chapter 167 and chapter 667" units that are dedicated to DDS and DMH clients if those agencies determine that the units are obsolete and inappropriate for their clients. DHCD will oversee disposition of any real estate interest and the dedication of any net sales proceeds to the capital needs of similar housing; and
(B) eliminates the ban on creating new public housing on sites with 100 units or more than 100 units within an eighth of a mile of each other.

SECTION
14 - Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund

Summary:
This section establishes a Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund as a flexible method for funding affordable housing for low-income families and individuals in the commonwealth, particularly those most at-risk of becoming homeless.

SECTION
15 - Extend Authority to Terminate and Renegotiate Leases

Summary:
This section extends through fiscal year 2014 the present legislative authorization for DCAMM to terminate state agency and court facility leases for insufficient funding, and to realize operating budget cost savings by renegotiating lease terms in return for extending lease terms to as much as a total of 15 years.

Summary:
This section extends the law allowing the Medical Security Trust Fund to be in deficit at the close of fiscal years 2010 to 2013, to apply also to fiscal year 2014.

SECTION
17 - Extend Substance Abuse Services Fund

Summary:
This section extends the Substance Abuse Services Fund until June 30, 2014.

SECTION
18 - Expenditures from Fiscal Year 2013 Surplus

Summary:
This section distributes any surplus at the end of fiscal year 2013 in the following order, to the extent that funds are available: *$25 million to the Community Preservation Trust Fund; *$20 million to the new Housing Preservation and Stabilization Trust Fund; and * the remaining balance to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund.

Summary:
This section allows the Inspector General's Office to continue to audit the Health Safety Net Trust Fund and the MassHealth program.

SECTION
20 - Extend Authorization to Transfer Trust Balances

Summary:
This section extends to fiscal year 2014 authorizations in the fiscal year 2011, 2012, and 2013 budgets to transfer to the General Fund certain trust and account balances, and now allows all or part of these balances to be transferred.

SECTION
21 - Funding for Payments to Certain Health Providers

Summary:
To implement a provision of the 2012 health care cost containment law, this section provides up to $20 million from the Healthcare Payment Reform Trust Fund, for certain health care providers that adopt alternative payment methodologies.

Summary:
This section provides for the annual transfer from the General Fund of "seed money" to make initial gross payments to acute hospitals. This seed money is later repaid to the General Fund.

SECTION
23 - MassHealth and CommCare Dental Coverage

Summary:
Until December 31, 2013 only, this section gives EOHHS and the Commonwealth Health Connector Authority board the necessary discretion to make MassHealth and Commonwealth Care dental coverage or service limitation decisions.

SECTION
24 - Nursing and Resident Care Facility Base Year

Summary:
This section changes to 2005 the base year for setting fiscal year 2014 nursing and resident care facility rates.

SECTION
25 - Pension Cost of Living Adjustment

Summary:
This section provides for a 3% increase on the first $13,000 in pension benefits for retired state employees. The section is included each year in the budget.

SECTION
26 - Stabilization Fund Transfers

Summary:
This section transfers $400 million to the General Fund from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund, but allows the Secretary of Administration and Finance to reduce the amount transferred. It also transfers interest on the Stabilization Fund during fiscal year 2014 to the General Fund.

SECTION
27 - Suspension of Tourism Formula

Summary:
This section suspends the statutory tourism fund formula for fiscal year 2014. This section has been routine in recent budgets.